Home > Mitchell Tags Toomey as 'Conservative' Four Times in 50 Seconds, Leaves Sestak Unlabeled

Mitchell Tags Toomey as 'Conservative' Four Times in 50 Seconds, Leaves Sestak Unlabeled

By

Brent Baker

October 28, 2010 - 8:14pm

In
the span of a mere 50 seconds on Thursday's NBC Nightly News, Andrea
Mitchell managed to apply a conservative ideological tag four times to
Pat Toomey, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania,
yet she failed to issue even a single label for liberal Democratic
candidate Joe Sestak.

Sitting at the anchor desk with Brian Williams, Mitchell made clear Toomey "is a Republican fiscal conservative who was fiscally conservative before the Tea Party was cool," soon repeating, in the narration for her story, how "Toomey is a former Congressman and a fiscal conservative" - all before driving home his ideology once more as she recalled that he "led a conservative Washington interest group."

Just
before Mitchell, Chuck Todd previewed the likely media line if some
incumbent Democrats survive Tuesday night against Tea Party favorites,
cautioning: "While nationally, Republicans have momentum in these waning
days, analysts expect them to fall short of the ten seats needed for
control of the Senate. Why? Two words: Tea Party."

From the Thursday, October 28 NBC Nightly News:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: ...a politically crucial, fascinating state, the state
of Pennsylvania. A Tea Party Republican trying to pick off a Democrat
there. And like so many, Andrea Mitchell with the story tonight, it is
rough, especially on the airwaves.

ANDREA MITCHELL: It's a very rough race. This is a Republican fiscal
conservative who was fiscally conservative before the Tea Party was
cool. And now with Tea Party help, he is ahead in a Democratic state.
Extra firepower [Bill Clinton] in Pennsylvania tonight to help Democrat
Joe Sestak....

Toomey is a former Congressman and a fiscal conservative....

Toomey, who led a conservative Washington interest group, Club for
Growth, is campaigning as an outsider against Sestak, a Congressman...

- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here[1] to follow him on Twitter.

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